"That monk doesn't appear to be one of us."
Bai Bo looked at the returning Xu Linglong, noting the slight unease in her expression, and offered his assessment before asking:
"Given your temperament, sparing his life must serve some other purpose?"
Xu Linglong flexed her right hand lightly and replied in a casual tone:
"Whether he is or isn't, the fact remains that he was able to locate Dong Gua with pinpoint accuracy. Yet he neither killed her nor interrogated her — he simply stationed himself at her side."
"That means both sides have a problem."
"If that Buddhist Son truly belongs to the Buddhist sect, it means those Buddhist fools are even more useless than we thought — ignoring everything, yet still drawing attention to themselves and even getting involved in the investigation."
"But if he truly is one of us, it would corroborate some of our suspicions."
"I had you remain behind while I went to meet them face to face — that was the reason."
"If we're pursued later and the ones who come are monks, then that Buddhist Son belongs to the Buddhist sect. If it's other Immortal Gate cultivators, or Chu Xingchen himself, then he is genuinely one of our kind."
"And if no one comes after us and everything proceeds smoothly, then we'll need to reconsider our approach entirely."
"We'd have to ask ourselves whether some action of ours left a trail for someone to follow, or whether Chu Xingchen has some method of identifying us."
Xu Linglong looked back toward the path she had come from:
"Regardless of the outcome, with your methods at our disposal, we can certainly withdraw safely."
Bai Bo nodded gently. His face, which had remained solemn for so long, finally broke into a faint smile:
"This is good news, at least. We've found a lead."
Xu Linglong did not respond to that.
Because regardless of whether the monk was genuine or not, the situation they now faced was extremely perilous.
A plan that should have had at least another century of preparation might very well need to be rushed forward.
And a plan rushed into action was no longer a plan — it was a gamble.
A gamble over who could seize that single thread of opportunity amidst the chaos.
Central Plains, Tianyan Sect.
Loving Family Under One Roof Peak, courtyard outside the breakthrough chamber.
Chen Baiqing gently pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea toward Chu Xingchen. She studied his expression, noting what appeared to be a hint of worry.
"Master, you needn't worry. Didn't you already obtain quite a few breakthrough pills from Uncle Yan Yun before?"
"I'm just worried they might be dense enough to think I'm tricking them. Especially your Fifth Junior Brother — he only sees that your Eldest Senior Sister broke through without taking any pills, but doesn't stop to consider how many pills your Second Senior Brother downed at my instruction."
Chu Xingchen let out a soft sigh.
"It's not that I'm worried they'll fail to break through. As my disciples, their aptitude naturally makes a Golden Core breakthrough a simple matter."
Chen Baiqing nodded gently, but couldn't resist teasing:
"Your expression doesn't look like that of someone who isn't worried."
Chu Xingchen reached out and flicked Chen Baiqing lightly on the forehead.
The flick didn't hurt, but Chen Baiqing still put on an exaggerated expression as though her master were bullying her.
Cui Hao's cultivation had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment — he was a hair's breadth from breaking through.
The spiritual energy density at Tianyan Sect was absolutely first-rate. Even though Cui Hao had been deliberately suppressing his cultivation under Chu Xingchen's guidance, the time for his breakthrough had finally arrived.
The other person attempting a breakthrough was the Green Snake.
The Green Snake's breakthrough was different from an ordinary cultivator's.
By the Green Snake's attribute talent, this progress might actually be considered somewhat slow.
After all, ever since hatching from its egg, the Green Snake had done little besides serve a stint as the sect's master builder — it had spent most of its time training diligently.
The only areas where it fell short were its refusal to take pills and being slightly behind Li Xingdong.
Chu Xingchen had asked Yan Yun to look into this, and had also consulted Qing He on the side.
After all, Qing He was a genuine dragon — technically a member of the demon beast category.
Qing He's assessment was straightforward — if the Green Snake carried a superior bloodline, then diligent training essentially accelerated the activation of that bloodline. If training progress was lackluster, it might indicate that the Green Snake possessed an even more remarkable bloodline that was simply taking longer to awaken.
In any case, with a bloodline backing it, the Green Snake's breakthrough to Golden Core was virtually guaranteed.
There was just one small problem at the moment.
Even though the Green Snake's current title was the Ultimate Sect-Guarding Divine Beast, the system still recognized it as a disciple. Upon reaching Golden Core, the system would award it a personal divine weapon.
Cui Hao was nominally a disciple as well, but the system did not acknowledge him. When he broke through, the system would not provide him with a weapon.
Chu Xingchen had previously promised to forge a divine weapon for Cui Hao.
Since Cui Hao practiced fist techniques, crafting a pair of gauntlets would theoretically be quite fitting. Adding some flashy visual effects, even if the raw power wasn't extraordinary, should suit Cui Hao's aesthetic sensibilities perfectly.
Regarding Cui Hao's personal weapon, Chu Xingchen had asked Yan Yun to gather Tianyan Sect's master artifact forgers for a joint research session.
The results had been less than ideal.
The group of master forgers were very clear in their stance — if someone practices the fist, what do they need a personal weapon for? The fist itself is the greatest weapon!
If it was purely for aesthetics, they could certainly forge one. But this type of weapon would have limited growth potential in its early stages.
It would not be like Li Yingling's weapon, which could be cultivated alongside her from the Golden Core stage all the way to the pinnacle of the Great Dao.
Their reasoning was thoroughly practical — most fist practitioners were poor. They could neither afford the cost nor provide high-end materials.
Those who weren't poor tended to invest their resources in their own bodies rather than commissioning something like a pair of gauntlets.
On the subject of gauntlet research, the various masters admitted that reference materials were scarce and many foundational principles would need to be reinvestigated from scratch.
After all, for these master forgers, artifact crafting was both a passion and their livelihood. They were not running a charity.
They never accepted commissions from broke fist fighters.
Chu Xingchen didn't even need to ask Cui Hao to know that this beloved disciple would absolutely refuse any plan involving transforming himself into a weapon.
Thus the research was placed on the schedule, with the approach splitting into two camps. One faction continued researching gauntlets. The other proposed looking beyond gauntlets entirely and exploring completely different avenues.
But regardless of which approach, both would require considerable time.
There was no chance Cui Hao would have a personal weapon ready by the time he broke through to Golden Core.
Whipping up a makeshift item to fob off a Golden Core stage Cui Hao would be easy enough, but Chu Xingchen had no intention of doing that.
His disciples were his own.
If their own master didn't look after them, could they really expect strangers to do it?
[Disciple Green Snake has successfully broken through to the Golden Core realm.]
[Divine Treasure — Hidden Dragon Sword has been distributed to your system space.]
The system notification interrupted Chu Xingchen's thoughts.
He turned his gaze to the right, toward the breakthrough chamber enclosed by the array, where the surging, crystalline spiritual energy was gradually subsiding.
The Green Snake had broken through faster than Cui Hao after all.
Chu Xingchen stood up and walked toward the Green Snake's breakthrough chamber.
Chen Baiqing quickly rose to follow.
The array detected the successful breakthrough, and the barrier that had been concealing the spiritual energy fluctuations and phenomena slowly dissipated.
They waited a moment.
The door was pushed open from inside.
Chu Xingchen's normally composed gaze lifted slightly in surprise.
"I have not disappointed the Sect Master's expectations. I have broken through to the Golden Core realm."
From within the room, a strikingly handsome youth who appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen stood with perfectly calm eyes. Dressed in light green martial attire, he cupped his hands and spoke to Chu Xingchen.
"Thank you, Sect Master, for your careful cultivation."
"Also, there is a matter I wish to report to the Sect Master."
"First, congratulations on breaking through to the Golden Core realm." Chu Xingchen observed him for a moment, confirming that there was no trace of the Green Snake's serpentine features remaining on his body, before speaking. "Now tell me what you'd like to discuss."
The youth cupped his hands once more:
"The name Green Snake was given based on my appearance before achieving human form. It was not inappropriate at the time, but... after my breakthrough, I discovered that I already have a name."
"I don't know who gave it to me."
"But my name is — Yun Li."
[
Dear Readers,
I post 3–4 high-quality chapters daily across multiple fictions, with free chapters unlocking every week for everyone to read.
If you enjoy the work and would like to support it, any donation is deeply appreciated. I have a support page where you can contribute whatever amount you are comfortable with. As a small thank-you for your generosity, supporters receive some early access and bonus content as a token of appreciation.
Support Options:
$6 — Early access to 10 chapters ahead
$8 — Early access to 20 chapters ahead, plus bonus chapters
$10 — Early access to 30 chapters ahead, plus bonus chapters and character artwork
Please use your browser instead of the Apple App when making a contribution. The app adds a 30% fee and delays payments by two to three months, so browser donations save you money and reach me much faster.
Whether you donate, read, or share the story with others, your support is what keeps these daily releases going. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Support: patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
]